RIT launches Integrated Sciences Academy

New academic unit fosters multidisciplinary research and programs

Multidisciplinary science education and research is the focus of a new academic unit in RIT’s College of Science that brings together researchers with different expertise to invent new ways to approach challenges facing a global society.

The Integrated Sciences Academy will focus on implementing specific inter- and multidisciplinary programs within the College of Science and differs from custom-tailored programs offered through RIT’s School of Individualized Study.

“We have set up the academy to be supported by faculty from all the academic units and programs of our college, and we have developed a process that will allow us to implement this new model successfully,” said Sophia Maggelakis, dean of RIT’s College of Science. “The academy’s goals and objectives contribute to the mission of our college and our university’s strategic plan.”

Mark Fairchild, former associate dean of the College of Science, will head the college’s sixth academic unit and will oversee its existing programs, including the color science MS and Ph.D. programs, science exploration program and all interdisciplinary courses/minors. The academy will house future multidisciplinary programs that do not fit within the traditional academic units, such as the pending BS degree in integrated science and entrepreneurship.

The organizational structure of the academy encourages traffic between the various disciplines in the College of Science and encourages new degree and non-degree granting programs that draw upon the expertise within the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, the School of Mathematical Sciences, the School of Physics and Astronomy and the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science.

Faculty will also be appointed directly to the Integrated Sciences Academy and may carry joint appointments with another academic unit with the College of Science.

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